| The Real Housewives of Orange County | |
|---|---|
| Format | Reality television |
| Starring |
Current Housewives Vicki Gunvalson Tamra Barney (season 3 - ) Gretchen Rossi (season 4 - ) Alexis Bellino (mid season 5 - ) Heather Dubrow (mid season 7 - ) Recurring Housewives Fernanda Rocha (season 6) Sarah Winchester (season 7 - ) Former Housewives Kimberly Bryant (season 1) Jo De La Rosa (season 1 to 2) Tammy Knickerbocker (season 2 to 3) Quinn Fry (mid season 3) Lauri Waring Peterson (season 1 to mid 4) Jeana Keough (season 1 to mid 5) Lynne Curtin (mid season 4 to 5) Peggy Tanous (season 6 to mid 7) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 80 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Scott Dunlop Roger White Shari Levine Andy Cohen Frances Berwick Douglas Ross Greg Stewart Kathleen French |
| Producer(s) | Brenda Coston Justine Huseth Rebecca Taylor |
| Location(s) | Orange County, California, United States |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Bravo |
| Original run | March 21, 2006 – Present |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Real Housewives of New York City |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Real Housewives of Orange County is a reality television program on the Bravo network. It is the first and seminal installation in the The Real Housewives of... series (all spinoffs, as acknowledged in the individual spinoffs' end credits, are based on ...of Orange County). Created by Orange County producer and Coto de Caza ("Coto") resident[1] Scott Dunlop,[2] with music by Chuck Hammer, the show was initially set primarily in the gated community of Coto and followed the lavish livestyles of five "housewives" and their families who resided within Coto McMansions, with the exception of one housewife (Lauri Waring), who lived in a Ladera Ranch townhouse. This housewife exception-to-the-rule was used in Season 1 as a foil to the (then) extravagant lifestyle of the other four housewives, who lived "behind the Coto gates". The show is a voyeuristic look into the wealthy lives of these housewives, as they shop, get plastic surgery, gossip, fight and live lavishly. The construction-real estate crash, the beginning of which coincided almost exactly with the first season's broadcast, has since trimmed the housewives' lifestyles with job losses, evictions, mortgage defaults, foreclosures, and marital stress—all recorded in progressive seasons of the show. Some have seen the show as a parable of the economic bubble and crisis as it portrayed a lavish consumerism, with American families living beyond their means, only to find themselves in serious debt when the economy soured.
Contents |
The five original housewives were Kimberly Bryant, Jo De La Rosa, Vicki Gunvalson, Jeana Keough and Lauri Waring. Season 1 consisted of 8 episodes, including the reunion. The show's second season premiered on January 16, 2007. Four of the five original housewives returned, with the exception of Kimberly Bryant who was replaced by Tammy Knickerbocker. Season 2 consisted of 10 episodes, including the reunion. Season 3 opened with Jo De Le Rosa's replacement Tamra Barney and consisted of 12 episodes, including the reunion. Additionally, midway through this season, a sixth housewife was introduced to the cast, Quinn Fry.[3] With the introduction of Barney and Fry and Waring's move to San Juan Capistrano, the scope of the show widened its narrow focus that used to emphasize the privilege and exclusivity of living in gated Coto de Caza to purport the general luxury and materialism of living in the Orange County environment. For example, Waring comments in the opening credits of Season 3 that she is now "living the Orange County lifestyle again" with her new wealthy fiance. BravoTV announced the series' fourth season[4][5] renewal with the return of three original housewives, Gunvalson, Keough, Peterson (Waring, after her marriage to George Peterson at the end of Season 3), and Season 3 housewife Barney.[6] A new housewife, Gretchen Rossi,[7][8][9] replaces Season 2 housewife Knickerbocker and Season 3 housewife Fry, both of whom did not return.[10] To compensate for the mid-season departure of Peterson, another new housewife, Lynne Curtin, joined the cast. This season premiered on November 25, 2008. Season 4 consisted of 15 episodes, including the reunion and a 'Lost Footage' special. In June 2009, BravoTV announced the renewal of the show for a fifth season[11] with the entire Season 4 cast returning. Season 5 premiered on 5 November 2009, with fifteen regular episodes and a two-part reunion. During this season a sixth housewife, Newport Beach resident, Alexis Bellino, was added to the cast to replace Keough, who departed mid-season, leaving Gunvalson as the only remaining original cast member. The show has been picked up for a sixth season, with new housewife Peggy Tanous replacing Lynne Curtin. Fernanda Rocha of Laguna Beach, a personal trainer who co-owns the Art of Fitness & Day Spa, also in Laguna, has signed up to appear on several upcoming episodes.[12] Season 6 premiered on Sunday, March 6, 2011.[13]
On Tuesday, August 2, 2011, the Real Housewives of Orange County was renewed for the seventh season, and then on September 4, 2011, Vicki Gunvalson tweeted, "It's "Go Time" for season 7. Tamra and I are now locked in. Hoping to have our best season yet! Pray for us..... Woo hoo'", on her official Twitter account. On December 16, Tamra Barney announced to a fan that season seven will return February 7, 2012.
(Season 1 - present)
"I don’t want to get old." (Season 1)
"Here's to not being fake." (Season 2)
"Everything's gotta be huge, large, and grand." (Season 3)
"I want the power, and the money, and I want them both." (Season 4)
"I love my family, I love my work, I love my life." (Season 5)
"I make my own money, and I make my own rules." (Season 6 - present)
At 49, born March 27, 1962 Gunvalson's family includes her ex husband, Donn, and the two children from her first marriage—Michael (who attended the University of Colorado at Boulder in early episodes) and Briana Wolfsmith (a nurse who attended Azusa Pacific University) in early episodes.
Gunvalson is the dominant force in her family and has been described by her family and friends as "controlling" and a "workaholic." As she is quoted in the show's opening credits, "I want the power and the money, and I want them both." Her children repeatedly call her "crazy" both to her face and during their camera confessionals during all three seasons. She has worked extremely hard to achieve financial success as an independent insurance agent and expects her family to toe her party line. Gunvalson herself admits to having control issues but maintains it is this very characteristic that has brought about her success and desired lifestyle. For example, in Season 1, when the housewives go on a private jewelry shopping spree, Waring laments that she does not have a man in her life to buy her the beautiful jewels in the shop; Gunvalson responds by telling her that she does not need a man to buy her things because they can earn the money independently through their insurance leads and purchase the jewels themselves.
In Season 3, Gunvalson and her husband are empty nesters and purchase a smaller home in Coto with the goal to downsize and simplify their lives. However, they still reside in their large residence and Gunvalson expresses anxiety of moving to the smaller home because of her perceived connection between financial failure and downsizing her home's square footage. She explains to the camera, "What will people think?" and eventually decides to sell her smaller house (4,000 s.f. initially listed at $2.1M) through Keough.
Gunvalson appears to have expanded her business to include business associates in Bellevue, Washington and Atlanta by Season 3. Michael starts an internship in Bellevue saying that he sees the lucrative income that his mom earns in insurance and wants to make that kind of money. Briana, however, thinks that he is crazy to want to work with their mother. Gunvalson is pleased that Michael wants to follow in her footsteps and looks forward to "passing the baton" if he meets her work standards. She announces to the staff in Bellevue that Michael shadowed his father as a carpenter last summer engaged in manual labor and she is glad that he is choosing to use his brain instead.
Gunvalson's opening scene in Season 4 finds her shopping for $1 million yachts with Michael. Her plans include selling the family's Lake Havasu vacation home and buying an expensive yacht that she says could be used more frequently as the yacht will be berthed 20 minutes from their home versus driving hours to Arizona. When she initially tells Donn of her plans, he asks her, "When is it ever enough?" Gunvalson replies, "It's never enough." Gunvalson's Season 4 motif revolves around her increasingly distant relationship with Donn and their awkward attempts to reintegrate their individual lives.
In Season 5, Vicki and Donn are portrayed as becoming closer after the growing estrangement in the Season 4 plots. However, Vicki becomes more distant from the other housewives after her season-opening "girls only" trip to Florida is crashed by husbands and a boyfriend without objection from the other cast members. In particular, Vicki's closest ally, Tamra, comes to prefer Alexis, and partially reconciles with Gretchen. Briana reappears in mid-season to provide a cancer-scare plot line.
In October 2010 it was reported that Vicki and Donn were divorcing. In April 2011, on the Bravo aftershow series Watch What Happens Live, Vicki confirmed that divorce proceedings were ongoing. She is the only original housewife from season 1 left in the programme.
(Season 3 - present)
"I'm the hottest housewife in Orange County." (Season 3)
"I'm not the new girl anymore, so watch out." (Season 4)
"Housewives come younger, but they don't come hotter." (Season 5)
"I'm done being the trophy wife. Freedom only makes me hotter." (Season 6 - present)
43-year-old California native Tamra Barney joined the cast in Season 3 through a casting call launched on the BravoTV website. She lived in Ladera Ranch with her second husband of 10 years, Simon Robert Barney (born 1964). She became a real estate agent in Coto de Caza and Ladera Ranch to achieve a sense of "value" in her family dynamic. However, she made it clear that her job did not provide her family with its primary financial support and that her husband was her family's primary breadwinner. Her family included three children by Simon: Sidney, Spencer, and Sophia, all of whom are under the age 10. Barney also has a 23 year old son, Ryan Vieth, from her first marriage. In Season 3, Ryan moved back in with the Barneys after leaving the family home at age 18 because of his contentious relationship with Simon. Although Ryan's relationship with Simon had not improved, without a college education and a job, he is forced to move back in with Barney and Simon. Season 3 documents the strain that Ryan imposed upon Barney and Simon's marriage. In response, Simon has Ryan sign a contract listing conditions which Ryan must meet to continue living in his house. After three months of living with Vieth-Barney and Simon, Ryan begrudgingly accepts a parts picker job paying only $10/hour at the Newport Beach auto dealership where Simon works.[41][42] Simon gives Ryan the opportunity to attend Universal Technical Institute,[43] which specializes in auto mechanics. By the end of Season 3, Ryan moved out of Barney and Simon's home to live with his grandmother.
As a new real estate agent working the same territory as Keough (a more established realtor), Barney expresses feelings of competitiveness with her. Barney asserted that "it won't be long before she's kicking Jeana's butt" when it comes to selling real estate in Coto. Citing the relative slowness of the Southern California real estate market, she was very pleased that she has four listings explaining that a good-looking female realtor will always make money in Orange County. She flamboyantly calls herself the "hottest housewife in Orange County" and works especially hard to keep herself looking "hot" as she approaches the "dreaded 40" during Season 3.
In Season 4, Simon has left Fletcher Jones to become a tequila salesman. He spent most of his time at home with Barney and their three small children. Tamra left employment as a real estate agent citing the severe slow down of the real estate market. Her eldest son, Ryan, lived on his own since leaving the low paying job that Simon arranged for him at his former employer to work construction at a higher pay. However, Ryan's lack of career focus and lifestyle choices continued to be a contentious issue for himself and his parents during this season.
Vieth-Barney and Gunvalson grow closer in Season 4 taking vacations together out of town (an anniversary weekend in Napa, California and New Year's vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada) and teaming up at an "Housewife" event during opening day at Del Mar Racetrack. While Curtin, Keough, and Rossi socialized with one another in the private box, Barney and Gunvalson (and their husbands) stayed close to one another avoiding Curtin and Rossi, prompting Keough to call them cliquey. Barney explains that their closeness is because she and Gunvalson "share a lot of the same values" and that "Vicki and Donn will be [their] lifelong friends."
The Tamra segments of Season 5 concentrate mainly on the growing marital discord between Tamra and Simon, exacerbated by their financial difficulties and continuing conflict over Ryan's behavior. On January 7, 2010, after Season 5 filming, Simon filed for divorce claiming infidelity and disloyalty by Tamra, and she moved from their home into a two bedroom apartment. The Barneys subsequently sold their house on May 10, 2010, as a "short sale," losing between $200,000 and $600,000. Simon and Tamra's best man at their wedding, was Simon's long time friend Glamour Photographer Jessie Eastland aka Robert DeMeo. When the Bravo Network asked the Barneys to join 'Housewives', Simon called his friend and Best Man and asked him his opinion on whether or not they should do the Reality Show. Mr. Eastland's reply was: "If you want to be divorced from Tamra, bust up your family, wash your dirty laundry in public and make your life miserable for the next few years...do the Show". Simon and Tamra's divorce was final as of October 2011.
Tamra Vieth-Barney appeared as a guest on Season 2, Episode 3, of Top Chef Masters
(Season 4 - present)
"I love the bling, I love the jewlery, I love it all." (Season 4)
"I'm smart, I'm sexy, and I'm confident. Of course people are going to talk about me." (Season 5)
"Happiness means never having to apologize for being me." (Season 6 - present)
Blond bombshell, Gretchen Rossi, 33, made a considerable impression on viewers when she joined the cast of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" in Season 4 and exposed some of the most poignant and personal details of her life. Gretchen grew up in La Cresenta, CA, and attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she earned a degree in Psychology and a minor in Family Studies and Child Development. Following college, Gretchen went into the then-booming South Orange County real estate industry, but quit working to take care of her fiancé at the time, Jeff. Gretchen continues to build financial independence through her make-up line and is now expanding the business with a handbag collection. Feeling pressure to take the next step with boyfriend, Slade Smiley, Gretchen doesn't know if she is ready for marriage again.
(Season 5- present)
"Am I high maintenance? Of course I am. Look at me." (Season 5)
"God is my savior, my husband is my king, and my body, it's sinful." (Season 6 - present)
Having joined the cast during Season 5, Alexis Bellino is a 32-year-old spicy blonde and stay-at-home mom who unabashedly lives life on her own terms. Originally from the small town of Hannibal, Missouri, Alexis now lives in the exclusive enclave of Newport Beach with her older husband, Jim Bellino. Alexis and Jim have three young children, 4-year old James and 3 year-old twins, Melania and Mackenna.
Alexis still believes that Jim is her king and savior and runs the show, but also confesses she wants more freedom and independence as a wife and mother. It's a new chapter for Alexis this season as she decides to launch a line of sexy and revealing dresses, designed for moms' just like her…which leads Tamra to speculate if there are other moms like Alexis.
(Season 7 - present)
Season 7 welcomes beautiful brunette housewife, Heather Dubrow, a former actress and now stay-at-home mom. She is married to prominent Newport Beach plastic surgeon, Terry Dubrow, and they have four children—8-year-old twins Nicholas and Maximilia, 5-year-old Katarina, and 10-month-old, Collette. Even though it's the family business and a favorite housewife activity, Heather is proud of the fact that other than a little Botox and filler, she's never had plastic surgery. She and her family live in exclusive beach community of Pelican Hill. They designed their home in the good taste and style that Heather was accustomed to, growing up in the upper echelon of the East Coast. Heather was an accomplished actress back in the day, but gave it up when she moved to the O.C., with Terry. And, although she loves her life she gets frustrated by the lack of sophistication in her new city.
Heather meets Tamra while shopping for a new property to design and build her family's next dream house. And, even though these two couldn't be more different, they hit it off. Heather brings a little East Coast panache to the wives by introducing them to art classes and champagne bowling. But, it's not long before Heather's East Coast attitude turns some of her new friends into enemies—especially when it comes to Alexis. Heather challenges Alexis' authenticity... and supports the rumor that Alexis is the biggest phony in Orange County.
(Friend of the Housewives)
(Season 7)
In Season 7, Gretchen and Alexis bring their long-time friend Sarah Winchester into the O.C. mix. Sarah says she is an heir to the Winchester Rifle family, she certainly comes into the group with her guns blazing. No stranger to drama, Sarah finds herself in the middle of verbal warfare with both Vicki and Heather.
(Season 1)
"85% of the women around here have had breast implants." (Season 1)
Born in 1961, Bryant is a stay-at-home mom whose schedule primarily consists of shuttling her kids from extracurricular activity to activity, working out, and socializing with her girlfriends. Season 1 focuses on her decision to surgically enhance her physical appearance after moving to Coto; her husband Scott asked her to get breast augmentation surgery after noticing that the majority of Coto wives were extremely well endowed. Bryant comments that 85 percent of the women living in Coto have had breast implants. She explains that she went from an A-cup to a D-cup breast size in part because her husband's idea of a wife over 40 is a "lingerie model."
At the end of Season 1, Bryant explained her family's departure from the show to Chicago by saying that her medical history of melanoma and her son's recent growth of a benign, but still pre-cancerous, mole catalyzed their move from the sunny OC weather.[55] The O.C. Register, however, provided an alternate explanation of why the Bryants left town: Scott purportedly physically assaulted a woman named Jana Kindchadwick after Kindchadwick and Bryant themselves engaged in a physical altercation.] Scott was eventually found not guilty in his misdemeanor battery criminal trial for assaulting Kindchadwick.
Bryant makes cameo appearances at Waring's bridal shower in Season 3 and in Season 4 when Gunvalson and Keough reunite with her during their trip to Chicago to visit family. She also attends a Season 4 end-of-summer party with the current housewives.
She now lives in Lake Bluff, Illinois.
(Season 1 - Season 2)
"He's pretty much keeping me." (Season 1)
"I deserve only the best. I’m worth it." (Season 2)
Jo De La Rosa (alias) was born in Lima, Peru and emigrated with her parents to Tustin, California at the age of three. In 1994, her parents won the California Lottery and moved the family to Mission Viejo. There she attended Mission Viejo High School where she was active in drama, cheer, and student body. She graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in English and Comparative Literature. She then started a career in the title insurance industry where she met Slade Smiley, who served as her entrance into the Coto lifestyle.
In Season 1, De La Rosa lived with Slade in his house behind the Coto gates. Included in her Coto family were his two sons from two different relationships, Gavin and Grayson. Slade is an executive in the title insurance industry and provided De La Rosa with the money and prestige of living the Coto lifestyle. He gave her a Mercedes sedan and a luxurious home and wanted De La Rosa, in turn, to be the conventional stay-at-home wife and mother. In De La Rosa's words, "Slade is pretty much keeping me." Despite having all of her financial needs taken care of, she still had trouble adjusting to the traditional housewife role.
In Season 2, De La Rosa decided to move out of Coto to take a position as the title representative for her company's Beverly Hills territory. As a result, Slade ended their romantic relationship during a session with a relationship therapist, but becomes her unofficial "guide" on contract or business issues as she pursues a singing career. Another change to her Coto life during this season was that Slade's younger son, Grayson, did not appear to live with De La Rosa and Slade.
De La Rosa was not included as a Season 3 cast member as she has moved to Los Angeles with a record contract from Immergent Records in tow and does not keep in touch with the other housewives. However, she makes cameo appearances at Keough's backyard cocktail party on the Season 3 finale episode and the post-Season 3 reunion episode. She also appears in the Season 4 finale, along with several housewives from seasons past.
De La Rosa and Slade were spun off on a dating reality show following her pursuit of love and a music career in Los Angeles. On July 12, 2008, their spin-off, entitled, "Date My Ex: Jo & Slade," premiered on BravoTV. Before the spin-off premiered, BravoTV aired a one episode special called, "Jo and Slade: The Break Up," on June 30, 2008 that recapped De La Rosa and Slade's romantic history and previewed their spin-off.
De La Rosa released her first album, titled "Unscripted," on August 19, 2008.
In Season 4, Rossi appears as an extra in De La Rosa's first music video with Slade as the video's producer.
According to De La Rosa's website, she is currently working on her sophomore album.
(Season 3)
"I love having a younger man in my life." (Season 3)
Fry joined the cast mid-Season 3 on December 11, 2007, by answering a casting call advertisement in a local newspaper. She was born in 1955 in Fort Knox, Kentucky, where her father was stationed in the military. Married twice before and now single, she lives in San Clemente, California. She has two children, one from each of her marriages: Shannon (31 at the time, a Eureka resident) and Colin. Colin lives with Fry and attended San Clemente High School as a senior at the time.[74] She works as an internet marketing manager and managing editor of an Orange County-based lifestyle and entertainment website and has also appeared as an on-air personality for the Cox Communications cable program, OC Lifestyle.
She is portrayed as a "cougar" as she is casually seeing a 26-year-old named Jared and she comments that "I love having a younger man in my life." However, a liaison with a golf pro in his forties, named Billy, is the relationship that Fry more seriously pursues. The other housewives meet her for the first time at a Mission Viejo restaurant where they immediately ask Fry a number of personal questions, such as, her age (52 at the time) and the name of her plastic surgeon. At this meet-and-greet, she calls the other housewives "catty" in response to their derisive comments after being introduced to Jared. For example, Barney comments in her camera confessional about Fry dating Jared that "I think if you're super hot like Demi Moore you can get away with it, but that's not the case."
As a devout Christian, Fry's debut season chronicles her search for a committed relationship that will lead to marriage. She struggles to balance her self-purported "sensual" side with her religious conviction that she is meant to be married. She describes her most recent relationship with a man that she lived with for three years as a waste of time because he was simply not interested in being married. At the end of Season 3, Fry breaks up with Billy because he could not even call her his girlfriend let alone marry her.
Fry leaves the cast after the end of Season 3, but attends a party Keough gives during the premiere episode of Season 4. She keeps in touch with Keough, calling her the "glue that keeps the housewives together" and describes her as the "peacekeeper." At Keough's invitation, Fry plans to attend a "Housewives" function to reunite with Gunvalson, Keough, and Knickerbocker. However, she describes Waring as a "fake" and classifies Barney similarly, stating that they smile when the cameras are on but are completely different when she sees them on the street. She makes a party appearance in Season 5.
(Season 2 - Season 3)
"I don’t let my kids or my exes drive me crazy." (Season 2)
"No matter how much money you have, you can always rely on others." (Season 3)
Tammy Knickerbocker, a 46-year-old single mother of three, joined the cast in Season 2 at the recommendation of her close friend of over 15 years and then-housewife Jeana Keough. Knickerbocker's family includes her two daughters from her first marriage, Megan and Lindsey, as well as a young son named Ryley from a recently ended relationship. Her first marriage to Lou (who died of a heart attack at age 67 on April 24, 2007) ended when he had an affair with his assistant and their lucrative business went bankrupt. Her lifestyle has been "reduced" from being married and owning one of the largest houses in Coto de Caza to being single and renting a $1.3 million house in the community while her permanent Coto home undergoes renovations because of severe water damage.
Another twist to her storyline is that Ryley's father, Duff, works in Coto as Gunvalson's home office manager. Knickerbocker and Duff attempt to balance their "friends with benefits" relationship with raising their young son. In the end, however, Duff and Knickerbocker decide to end any romantic relationship. Duff swears off the "crazy women of Coto de Caucasian" and Knickerbocker introduces the new man in her life to the other Housewives at Gunvalson's splashy end-of-summer barbecue party.
Although Knickerbocker left the series at the end of Season 3, she makes a cameo appearance at the end of Season 4, when she attended a party with current and selected former housewives, and another appearance for a Bunco party hosted by Tamra Barney.
(Season 1 to mid 5) (Recurring in Season 6)
It's just money and you can't take it with you (season 1)
I have always wanted things, I crave money (season 2)
I love money, and now I'm loving life (season 3)
It doesn’t matter what happens in life, I do it my way (season 4)
Money is a girl's best friend, and I love friends (season 5)
Jeana Keough (born September 18, 1955) is a 54-year-old former Playboy Playmate of the Month (November 1980, under the name Jeana Tomasino) and actress (featured in the 1981 film History of the World, Part 1 and in the 1982 movie Beach Girls) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She currently works as a realtor. In Season 3, she legally separated from her second husband, Matt Keough, with whom she has three children: Shane, Kara, and Colton. Matt is a former major league pitcher[81] for the Oakland A's and several other major league teams. He is currently employed as an executive with the Oakland A's.
Keough often described her experience as a mother as tough and her children are often seen battling with one another over the usual sibling rivalries and the not so usual sibling rivalries, such as who has the newer BMW. Kara talks on-air about her family dynamic by saying, "We show our love by buying each other things." During both Seasons 1 and 2, Keough explained that Matt was often out of town on business which left her as the primary parent and disciplinarian to her three children which resulted in a very hectic household. Part of this absence can be attributed to Matt serving time in jail for a drunk driving accident in which he hit a bicyclist.[84][85] Season 2 continued to document Keough's marital struggle and one of her closing statements is that "We have four houses, he [Matt] can choose one."
In Season 3, Keough's Coto family has gotten smaller as she and Matt have legally separated and Colton is the only child living consistently at home. Shane plays minor league baseball out of state and Kara (a former child actor) prepares to attend UC Berkeley in Northern California. In prior seasons, Colton was depicted as the reasonable, obedient, down-to-earth child with Keough describing him as her "golden child." However, this season shows Colton defying his mother, Coto HOA rules and traffic laws; with Keough now saying that she doesn't trust Colton alone and she really wants to keep a closer eye on him.
Keough explores the dating scene in Season 3 explaining to friends that she and Matt did not have a real marriage, just a relationship that used to be based on a strong physical and sexual attraction. According to Keough, Matt does not really like or love her; they got caught up in the sex at first, then the children came along and they just got on with the "business of marriage." She continues to explain that when she gained weight he, being an athlete, could not understand and so stopped being "nice" to her.
In the opening scenes of Season 4, Keough and Matt still live in the same house with Keough explaining that she takes in all types of people into her house, so "why wouldn't she let the father of her children live in her home?" Despite their close living quarters, Keough asserts that she and Matt are definitely separated and she has just redecorated her master bedroom for thousands and thousands of dollars as a show of her independence. With Shane[88] and Kara living in different cities, Colton remains the only child living with her and Keough relies on family friend "Uncle Richie" to act as a father figure for him (such as helping Colton get ready for prom). With the downturn of the real estate market, and California particularly hard hit, a portion of Keough's Season 4 storyline depicts how the market lows and the current recession has affected Keough's occupation as a high-end realtor. The extreme real estate downturn in Orange County since 2005 has severely impacted the Keoughs' financial position. Jeana and Matt lost the residences which they bought for their children during the boom, but averted the loss of their home in March 2010. The house is still scheduled for foreclosure by the community association, but the sale date has been extended month-by-month. The third episode of Season 5 was Keough's last appearance as a regular on the show, although she has made later cameo appearances.
Keough returns to Bravo in September 2010 on the new fitness series Thintervention with Jackie Warner as a weight-loss client.
(Season 4 - Season 5)
(Recurring Season 6)
"I'm just your typical Orange County housewife. I'm obsessed with being young." (Season 4)
"It's not about how much money you have, it's about how good you look spending it." (Season 5)
On December 16, 2008, the Capistrano Beach resident Curtin,[107] joined the cast in the fourth episode of Season 4 to replace Lauri Waring Peterson. She has been married to Frank Curtin for 18 years and is a stay-at-home mom for her two teenage daughters, Raquel (19) and Alexa (17).[108] Her role as a stay-at-home mom and accompanying interpretation of appropriate parenting style is her storyline in Season 4. She mentions that her "carefree and laidback" parenting style where she strives to be her daughters' best friend differs greatly from her husband's. Raquel is turning 18 and angling for a blowout bash and a car (preferably a BMW, Mercedes or Audi) as Curtin debuts in Season 4.
While her younger daughter, Alexa, stays at home, Raquel prefers (in her words) to "party with her friends as often as she can" throughout Orange County. She is shown eating out in Laguna Beach restaurants ordering alcoholic beverages and smuggling bottled alcohol into a bowling alley to surreptitiously drink with her fellow underage friends in the bathroom. Compounding her image as a "problem child" (as Curtin teasingly labels her eldest), Raquel discloses to Keough that she graduated from a high school program called Access at Horizons, which Keough explains is designed to cope with children with disciplinary problems.
A leitmotif is Curtin's reluctance to accept that she is getting older. When pressed by Rossi, Curtin will not divulge her age confessing that she is absolutely afraid of getting old when she just wants to "have fun." She prides herself on looking young and wearing the same size clothing as her teenage daughters. At Raquel's birthday lunch, Alexa wears a form fitting short dress that incites Randy to respond that he did not even recognize her and that she looked like a stripper. Curtin's response is that the dress is very "classy" and it actually belongs to her.
The other Housewives label her and Frank as "so laid back," with Barney and Gunvalson implying that they both use marijuana to achieve that level of calmness. Barney, Gunvalson, and Keough observe that the Curtins differ so greatly from the rest of the Housewives and their spouses because of their "mc purposes. Both Lynne and her husband, jointly, are subjects of a $1,200,000 court judgment in favor of a former business associate [109]
Lynne Curtin appeared as a guest on Season 2, Episode 3, of Top Chef Masters [110] On August 6, 2010, Curtin has announced on her official Facebook page that she will not be returning to the show: "Rumor has it that I will not be returning for 'Season 6' That rumor is true! Further rumor has it we will be back somewhere else on our own show! Hmmmm! 'Watch what happens' Life is so unpredictable! Enjoy! L," also: "I am broken hearted! I was so let down the way this came about! We were the last to know! I guess Bravo has to do what they have to do! I thought we had a great relationship! I guess I was wrong! Its funny how fast offers came to us from other places! That's how we found out we were not returning! Funny how life can be! L." She also said, "Thank you! We tried to be honest about our lives! I thought that's what reality TV is supposed to be! I would like our new show to be totally honest! No retakes or do overs. You will see it exactly the way it really happens! Someone thinks a lot of people will tune in! That makes me feel better about things! It's important to keep a positive vibe in life no matter what is going on! L"
She will make an appearance during season 6.
(Season 1 - Season 4)
"Are the police involved?" (Season 1)
"I was poor, I was rich, I was poor again, and you know what? Having money is easier." (Season 2)
"You know what? I'm living the OC lifestyle again. I feel like royalty." (Season 3)
"I still get pampered. I still get treated like a princess. I deserve it." (Season 4)
In Season 1, Lauri Waring Peterson was a multiple-divorced single mother who used to live in a grand house with maid service in neighboring Dove Canyon with her ex-husband, but in the aftermath of her latest divorce had to downsize to a smaller townhouse outside the gates in Ladera Ranch. Her family included Ashley, Josh and Sophie. Although she was 46 at the time, Waring, a former model, still attended parties at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion, though she was quick to point out she was never a Playboy bunny. To make ends meet, she worked in Gunvalson's home insurance office. Her daughter Ashley moved back home to escape the difficulties of paying her own bills and her son Josh spent time in juvenile detention. In Season 1, Waring struggled with the adjustment from her former affluent lifestyle provided by yet another wealthy husband to a more modest standard of living on her own. She has said that she has gone from being poor to being rich to being poor again, and that "having money is easier." However, her perception of "poor" still includes her purchase of jewelry valued for thousands of dollars during a private shopping excursion with the housewives. During Season 1, Gunvalson hired Waring into her home-based insurance company, however by Season 2, after forming a relationship with a rich land developer, Waring appears to have a less active role in Gunvalson's insurance company and by Season 3, Waring never appears working with Gunvalson or in the insurance business. During Season 2, Waring became engaged on Lake Como to a wealthy real estate and land developer, George Peterson.[95] Season 2 focused on Waring's relationship with George and the financial improvements to her lifestyle that this upwardly mobile relationship provides her and her children. Waring identifies herself as a Republican (although she is unable to define what that means to her) and attends a Republican Party fundraiser as part of George's social obligations. By Season 3, Waring, Ashley and Sophie have moved in with George into his home in San Juan Capistrano. She is shown planning her expensive third wedding and riding horses at George's ranch. After leaving rehab, Josh moved into Waring's Ladera Ranch townhouse with Ashley, however, Waring purports that Josh broke a number of "house rules" and she evicted him. After leaving his mother's townhouse, Josh moved in with George's ex-wife, Gina. Josh doesn't appear in the credits as part of Waring's family and Waring has alluded that she doesn't see him anymore. Despite the appearance of numerous children from George's former marriage and Waring's repeated commentary about their "modern Brady Bunch family" in Season 2, only one daughter, McKenzie (18), appears to live with George and Waring during Season 3. The Season 3 finale included an extended psychotherapy session attended by Waring and Josh where they achieved resolution in their conflicted mother-son relationship. Josh ends up being included in his mother's lavish wedding ceremony as his grandmother's escort down the aisle. In Season 4, Waring makes a brief appearance with the other housewives as they enjoy massages, facials, manicures and pedicures at a high-end Los Angeles day spa. While the other housewives bond and leisurely enjoy spa treatments, Waring leaves early to attend a family function with George. Gunvalson comments that Waring used to be a close friend but not since she married George and says that, "It's sad." As the season progresses, it is apparent that Waring interacts very sporadically with the other housewives saying that her focus and attention is with George and her family. December 9, 2008 marked the departure of Waring from the show to focus her attention on her family and their difficulties, specifically citing Josh's spiral into heroin addiction. Prior to the start of Season 4, in June 2008, Josh was charged with two felony counts of possession and intent to sell.
(Season 6)
"Soccer moms drive mini vans but this girl drives a Bentley." (Season 6)
Season 6 welcomed a new beautiful blonde, Peggy Tanous, a 41-year old former model and now stay-at-home mom with poster girl good looks. Peggy is an odd mix between a holistic, new age woman and a wealthy Orange County party girl. She believes in clean, natural living, but loves her bling, Bentley, and plastic surgery. She sees her new O.C. gal-pals as another step towards being fabulous.
Peggy is a close friend to Alexis, but as the season plays out, the relationship hits a rocky patch. Peggy jumps into the middle of a friendship with Tamra because they are both involved with younger men, and Vicki because Peggy believes strongly in astrology and Vicki is an Aries.
During the season, Peggy gets breast implant replacement surgery because it's healthier and as she says, she wants to look "damn good in a bathing suit!" Peggy also reinvigorates her former modeling/hosting career, but there is more to Peggy than just good looks as she opens up about an emotional secret.
| Housewives | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vicki Gunvalson | |||||||
| Jeana Keough | |||||||
| Lauri Waring Peterson | |||||||
| Jo De La Rosa | |||||||
| Kimberly Bryant | |||||||
| Tammy Knickerbocker | |||||||
| Quinn Fry | |||||||
| Tamra Barney | |||||||
| Gretchen Rossi | |||||||
| Lynne Curtin | |||||||
| Alexis Bellino | |||||||
| Peggy Tanous | |||||||
| Heather Dubrow |
| Housewives | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernanda Rocha | |||||||
| Lynne Curtin | |||||||
| Jeana Keough | |||||||
| Sarah Winchester |
The "Real Housewives" moniker, once attached only to The Real Housewives of Orange County, now denotes a franchise with a number of spin-off series that air on BravoTV. In the wake of the success of the original show, the first spin-off, The Real Housewives of New York City, premiered on March 4, 2008.[14] BravoTV also announced the development of two additional "Housewives" spin-offs, The Real Housewives of New Jersey and The Real Housewives of Atlanta, with the latter premiering on October 7, 2008.[15] The Real Housewives of New Jersey subsequently premiered on May 12, 2009.[16]
In the spring of 2009, BravoTV announced the creation and casting of another spin-off called The Real Housewives of D.C.[17][18][19] The fifth season of The Real Housewives of Orange County premiered on November 5, 2009. Additionally, Season 1 O.C. housewife De La Rosa received her own dating show spin-off, Date My Ex: Jo & Slade, in which a group of bachelors competed to become her new love interest. This spin-off premiered on BravoTV on July 21, 2008.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills began shooting during March 2010. Kim and Kyle Richards, who are Paris Hilton's aunts, will be in the show. The Real Housewives franchise might go international. According to TV Fanatic and OK Magazine, Bravo is thinking about expanding their empire to Dubai. In Greece, The Real Housewives of Athens will begin airing on Antenna TV in October 2010..'The Real Kids Of LA' was later changed to LA Prep spinoff of NYC Prep.
As aforementioned, all spinoffs are based on the original Orange County series.
In March 2009, Target stores released the first season on DVD.[20]
| Season | Episodes | Release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | March 15, 2009 | |
| 2 | 10 | November 8, 2009 | |
| 3 | 12 | March 21, 2010 | |
| 4 | 15 | November 14, 2010 | |
| 5 | 17 | August 9, 2011 | |
| 6 | 16 | TBA | |
| Season | Episodes | Season Premiere | Season Finale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | March 21, 2006 | May 9, 2006 | |
| 2 | 10 | January 16, 2007 | March 20, 2007 | |
| 3 | 12 | November 6, 2007 | January 29, 2008 | |
| 4 | 15 | November 25, 2008 | February 24, 2009 | |
| 5 | 17 | November 5, 2009 | March 11, 2010 | |
| 6 | 16 | March 6, 2011 | June 20, 2011 | |
| 7 | TBA | February 7, 2012 | TBA | |
|
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